Economy

Wall Street sees a wave of layoffs as big banks face pressure to shrink payrolls

6:07pm January 20, 2023

by David Gura

The boom times are over in banking, and big layoffs are back on Wall Street. After a years-long pause during the pandemic, the big banks are cutting costs and letting go of underperformers.

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With inflation climbing, a lot of Americans are pulling out their credit cards to pay for day-to-day items and are starting to accumulate quite a bit of debt.

Economy

Are you struggling to pay off credit card debt? Tell us what hurdles you are facing

5:43am January 20, 2023

by Arezou Rezvani

NPR wants to know if it's becoming harder to pay off outstanding credit card balances these days.

Republican Congressman Don Bacon urges bipartisanship on debt ceiling

5:22pm January 19, 2023

As the battle over the debt ceiling heats up in Congress, NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Congressman Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska, about the negotiations.

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Why the price of eggs spiked so high in the span of one year

4:40pm January 19, 2023

by Kendall Crawford

The cost of eggs has risen across the country. Prices were up in December by 60% compared to the same time the year prior. Avian flu is mostly to blame.

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The U.S. Capitol Building is seen on Jan. 19, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. reached its debt limit on Thursday and is resorting to extraordinary measures to avoid defaulting on its debt.

U.S. hits its debt limit and now risks defaulting on its bills

12:58pm January 19, 2023

by Rafael Nam

The U.S. is undertaking "extraordinary" measures to avoid defaulting on its obligations after the country reached its debt limit on Thursday. Now, a big political fight looms.

Morning news brief

6:31am January 19, 2023

A high stakes debt ceiling fight looms on Capitol Hill. The rules on handling classified documents. And the tech industry, facing one of its sharpest downturns in a decade, turns to layoffs.

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A political standoff over the debt ceiling could harm the U.S. economy

6:13pm January 18, 2023

As the U.S. creeps towards its debt ceiling and a political standoff takes shape, NPR's Juana Summers speaks with two of the negotiators who helped broker a deal to raise the debt limit in 2011.

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Microsoft announces it will cut 10,000 jobs

6:13pm January 18, 2023

by Bobby Allyn

Microsoft has announced it will cut 10,000 jobs in coming months, with lay off notices going out Wednesday. Like many other tech and finance companies, it's bracing for a recession this year.

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listens to President Biden during an October 2021 meeting with Cabinet members and corporate chief executives to discuss the looming federal debt limit. Two years later, the debt limit is once again an economic threat.

4 ways around a debt ceiling crisis — and why they might not work

1:46pm January 18, 2023

by Danielle Kurtzleben

From an obscure congressional maneuver to a trillion-dollar coin, there are many ideas out there to help the U.S. avoid debt default, but they are untested and have major potential problems.

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How climate change is impacting New England's snowplow drivers

5:08am January 18, 2023

by Mara Hoplamazian

New England winters are warmer and bring more rain than snow due to climate change. That means local snowplow drivers have limited work, and must find alternatives to a once reliable livelihood.